Teacher appreciation and end-of-year gifts

Every teacher has a shelf of mugs, and every mug says “World’s Best Teacher.” Some say it in a font. The teacher drinks out of one of them at 6:40 a.m. and leaves the rest in the cupboard. Then there’s the candle.

I’ll Wait. is a dictionary of the things teachers say, decoded at last. It has 500 entries from the first day, test day, the hall pass, the field trip, the staff room and the parent-teacher conference. “I’ll wait.” Translation: Teacher has nowhere to be, and Teacher can do this all day. “Who was talking?” Translation: nobody, the whole class heard nobody. The last chapter is the end of the year, and it’s sincere.

It makes a good Teacher Appreciation Week gift in May, a good end-of-year gift in June and a good holiday gift in December. Parents can give it on their own or the class can chip in. Several copies make a thank-you for a whole grade team, the school office or the substitute who survived. The book is illustrated throughout, printed in full color, and costs less than the gift card everyone else is giving.

Teachers will read it in the staff room. Out loud. Several will claim one particular entry was written about them.